Pakistan, Turkey to strengthen collaboration in disaster management

ANKARA, Turkey: Pakistan and Turkey have decided to further intensify mutual collaboration in the field of disaster management.

This was agreed during a meeting between Chairman, National Disaster Management Authority, Lt. General Omar Mahmood Hayat and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority President, Dr. Mehmet Güllüoglu, in Ankara today.

Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi also attended the meeting.

Both sides agreed to work on a number of initiatives, including sharing of experiences and knowledge in disaster management, training of experts, joint exercises, hosting of joint conference, and high-level exchanges to intensify cooperation, bilaterally and in the wider regional context.

Chairman NDMA conveyed deep appreciation for Turkey’s assistance for relief and rehabilitation operations during the 2005 earthquake and the devastating 2010 floods in Pakistan.

He underlined that given its extreme vulnerability to large-scale recurring natural disasters, the Government of Pakistan had strengthened its indigenous response mechanisms to natural disasters and was progressively moving towards a proactive approach of Disaster Risk Management, capitalizing on its own rich experiences as well as adopting best global practices.